Might As Well Get High and Tax It

My home state of Ohio is now a step closer to becoming the fifth state to legalize marijuana. More than 300,000 signatures are needed to put an amendment to a vote in November which if passed would change the state’s constitution enabling Ohioans to legally consume marijuana for medical and recreational use. A group called ResponsibleOhio is currently heading the charge for the signatures.

For the record I am not a pothead and never found the burnout culture very funny. The “Hey man, I’m like so f**ked up right now, man,” shtick never appealed to me.

On the other hand I have found some of the arguments for the legalization of marijuana very compelling. If you are interested in learning more about marijuana yourself though, then you should check out something like this weed blog here. Imagine what it would do for the fast-food industry selling nachos in the late-night drive-thru! Moreover, as in the case of legalized gambling and prostitution, the concept of regulating and taxing marijuana has merit. I also feel that medical marijuana should be available to alleviate suffering for anyone who needs it.

Additionally, the often used argument from marijuana’s legalization proponents that pot is no worse than alcohol is very true. In fact, alcohol is probably worse. As someone who has worked in the night club industry for decades I can tell you without reservation that the last type of person you want to fight is any woman’s short and jealous boyfriend who has just had a few drinks. For my money we could send an assemblage of these guys over to Iraq each supplied with a six-pack and then tell them what ISIS really wants is a blow job from their girlfriends.

Let’s for a moment forget the moral issues and the debates regarding the pros and cons of the medical studies about recreational marijuana usage. Sometimes to evaluate a certain behavior we need to just break it down into the simplest terms of what it really is.

It’s ironic that many folks against the usage of pot enjoy drinking a liquid that contains a chemical which is quickly absorbed by the blood and carried throughout the body. If the flow of this chemical continues in excess amounts the stomach and small intestine are not able to process it. The liver then struggles to metabolize the harmful substance. Amounts of the chemical not broken down by the liver besieges the rest of the body. It then enters the parts of the brain that control movement, speech, judgment, and memory.

We use fun terminology such as “getting a buzz” but this effect is actually our body losing the battle to defend itself against intoxication. Note the root word “toxic.” That is what drinking alcohol essentially is and it’s perfectly legal. So what is smoking?

If while reading this you would happen to smell smoke in the room what would you do? Every instinct that you have would kick in and tell you to get the hell out of where you are at. Why? Because smoke is very dangerous to the delicate inner linings of your lungs. When you smoke a cigarette, joint, or cigar you are subverting your self preservation instincts. Smoking is holding hot burning material up to your mouth and inhaling fine searing ash particles in the form of smoke and various gases into your lungs to be absorbed by fragile microscopic air sacs called alveoli.

That is what all smoking is and tobacco smoking is perfectly legal.

Why not legalize pot too? We are all going to die sooner or later so as long as millions enjoy these activities we might as well get high and tax it.